Posts for May 22, 2017
These are the posts
that are accumulated in our weekly newsletter which goes out throughout the
school year. The posts are organized by the major units in our Constitutional Law (5th ed.) student textbook.
Planning for next year? Check out the National Virtual Supreme Court Competition for High School Student.
The Competition offers teams of two high school students the opportunity to
research cutting-edge constitutional law, write persuasive appellate briefs,
argue against other students through video chats, and try to persuade a panel
of esteemed attorneys during oral argument that their side is correct. This
year’s competition focused on Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer.
See the top finishers and their briefs:
See the process leading up to the finals:
I. Introduction to Law, the
Constitution, and the Supreme Court [See TOPICS 1-10 in the 5th
edition of Constitutional Law]
Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:
The decision in Cooper v. Harris can be found at:
II. Defining the Political
System: Federalism and Checks and Balances [See TOPICS 11-15
in the 5th edition of Constitutional
Law] Here are recent articles that are relevant to this unit:
Texas House OKs new
abortion limits despite court defeats [AP, 5/20/17]: Texas'
Republican-controlled House has approved tough new limits on abortion, striking
back after the U.S. Supreme Court gutted many restrictions on the procedure the
state passed in 2013.
The
American Presidency [TOPIC 15]
Trump: 'I never
mentioned the word or the name Israel' to Russians [CNN, 5/22/17]: President Donald Trump sought to rebut claims Monday
that he damaged Israeli intelligence capabilities by revealing highly
classified information to Russian operatives earlier this month.
Will the Presidency Survive This President? [NY Times, 5/20/17]: Mr. Trump's recklessness may
force Congress or the courts to constrain him, diminishing the power of the
office.
Trump to propose big cuts to safety-net in new budget,
slashing Medicaid and opening door to other limits [Wash Post,
5/21/17]: President Trump’s first major budget proposal on Tuesday will include
massive cuts to Medicaid and call for changes to anti-poverty programs that
would give states new power to limit a range of benefits, people familiar with
the planning said, despite growing unease in Congress about cutting the safety
net.
West Wing aides brace for big attorney bills [Politico,
5/20/17]: President Donald Trump has deep pockets to pay for personal lawyers
to defend him from the evolving federal investigation into his campaign’s
contacts with Russian officials. It’s a very different story for his
staff.
Donald Trump's many
foreign policy flip-flops [CNN, 5/22/17]: President Trump is winning
kudos for the start of his nine-day foreign trip. It's some of the first
positive press coverage he's received in months. But it's also based on a
series of flip-flops -- rhetorical and policy-centered -- that have greased the
skids for Trump's trip to look like a success.
III. The Political System: Voting and Campaigns [See TOPICS 16-20 in the 5th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:
Supreme Court rules NC redistricting was unconstitutional
racial gerrymandering [Wash
Examiner / Law Newz / SCOTUS blog / USA Today / “Election Law” blog, 5/22/17]: The 5-3 decision in Cooper v. Harris tossed out the districts drawn by
Republican officials after the 2010 census. Justice Elena Kagan wrote the
court's opinion and was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, who wrote a
concurring opinion, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen
Breyer. Justice Neil Gorsuch did not participate.
http://lawnewz.com/important/even-clarence-thomas-smacked-down-north-carolina-racial-gerrymandering/
The opinion in Cooper v. Harris can be found at:
U.S. Supreme Court leaves key campaign finance restriction in
place
[Reuters / AP, 5/22/17]: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away a
Republican challenge to a federal campaign finance restriction that prevents
political parties from raising unlimited amounts of cash to spend on supporting
candidates. The Republican Party of Louisiana had argued that a provision of
the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act violates free speech rights under the
U.S. Constitution. But the justices let stand a lower court's ruling that
rejected the Republican challenge. The brief order noted that conservative
Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch favored hearing the case.
Status Check: Where Voting
Rights Cases Stand With The Supreme Court [NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday,” 5/21/17]: The high Court decided not to hear a case on North
Carolina's restrictive voting law. But other cases are moving forward. NPR's
Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to Richard Hasen, law professor at UC Irvine.
Supreme Court Upends 25 Years of
Precedent on Patent-Suit Venue [CNS, 5/22/17]: A dream of Louisiana Republicans to influence federal contests
with soft-money donations from state and local parties crumpled Monday at the
U.S. Supreme Court.
Democratic divisions on display as Bauman wins California
party chairmanship [Politico, 5/21/17]: A caustic contest between the
party establishment and “Berniecrat” activists gripped the nation’s largest
Democratic party in Sacramento this weekend, underscoring fierce Democratic
divisions at the state level that continue to simmer five months into Donald
Trump’s presidency.
How L.A.'s school board election became the most
expensive in U.S. history [LA Times, 5/21/17]: Charter school
supporters and unions spent nearly $15 million to battle each other in last
week's Los Angeles Board of Education races, which crossed the finish line as
the most expensive school board election in U.S. history.
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
Flynn Said to Plead Fifth in Senate Inquiry [CNS / CNN,
5/22/17]: Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn will reportedly invoke
his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination on Monday as he notifies a
Senate panel that he won’t hand over documents in the probe into Russia’s
meddling in the 2016 election.
McConnell steps into Obamacare firing line [Politico,
5/21/17]: Whether Senate Republicans can repeal the health law largely depends
on the longtime GOP leader.
GOP talks of narrowing
'blue-slip' rule for judges [The Hill, 5/21/17]: GOP senators
are talking about changing an obscure Senate tradition to make it more
difficult for Democrats to block certain judges from advancing to a confirmation
hearing.
IV. Criminal Law and Procedure (4th, 5th,
6th, and 8th amendments) [See TOPICS 21-28 in
the 5th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some
recent articles that are relevant to this unit
The Accusation [Marshall Project, 5/21/17]: Katie's father went to prison for raping
her and her brothers. It was an unthinkable crime that broke her family apart.
So why couldn't she remember it?
V. 1st Amendment
(Speech, Religion, Press and Assembly)
[See TOPICS 29-33 in the 5th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that
are relevant to this unit:
Federal appeals
court: Arizona prison outgoing mail policy violates constitution [Jurist, 5/20/17]: A panel of the US Court of Appeals
for the Ninth Circuit on Friday ruled that the Arizona Department of
Corrections' (ADC) outgoing mail policy calling for a "page-by-page
content review" of inmates' confidential outgoing legal mail violated the
First and Sixth Amendments of the US Constitution.
Jokes, Indecency and the Federal Communications
Commission [Jurist,
5/20/17]: Commentary on the implications
of late-night television political satire and the effect of FCC regulation on
the First Amendment.
VI. 14th
Amendment, Discrimination, Privacy, Working, Citizenship & Immigration [See TOPICS 34-41 in the 5th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to
this unit:
New Study Finds That
Bullying Remains High at School, But Has Declined Over Time [EdLawProfs Blog, 5/19/17]: A new study on
bullying at school offers both good and bad news. The bad news is that bullying
remains a constant aspect of daily life for many students at school. Anywhere
from 13 to 29 percent of students report being bullied in the last month. Half
of students indicated that they have witnessed bullying in the last month. The
good news is that these numbers are down from prior years. Also, the vast
majority of students feel safe at school, notwithstanding the prevalence of
bullying.
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